Commentary by Michael Wade on Leadership, Ethics, Management, and Life

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mini-Sabbaticals

The other day, while sipping DayQuil and staring at my bedroom ceiling, I came up with several good ideas for some work projects.

It was the old story of creativity being fed by inactivity. That, in turn, leads to this thought:

We take time off for vacations, sickness, and personal chores. Why not take time off to think?

Doing so while at the office can raise some eyebrows. Action or the appearance of action are preferred. Sitting and pondering has a close resemblance to goofing off.

I've long suggested to clients that they take at least one hour a week to get away and think but it also makes sense to take a longer amount of time every month.

This can depend, of course, upon personal styles. For some, the best thoughts occur in the midst of action while others require inactivity as inspiration. The trick is to seize the activity - be it playing tennis or watching clouds - that will unlease the creativity.

2 Comments:

Good points, Michael. I think it's also important to make sure you get some "thinking" time during the day. Pick a time when you're doing something where your body does on autopilot and lets your mind run free. And make sure you have something (Moleskin notebook, a digital voice recorder) to capture the ideas you will surely get.